Pulling tool assembly for well equipment



March 6, 1962 w. C;` GREEN 3,023,811

` PULLING TooL ASSEMBLY FOR WELL EQUIPMENT March 6, 1962 w. G. GREEN 3,023,811

PULLING TOOL ASSEMBLY FOR WELL EQUIPMENT Filed Nov. 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f g w i 2/2 g g 4 I f l 7 /aL P/T 7.5`

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/756 INVENTOR f William G. Green J /54 gm/J M# BY W- 2'/` Fq @Mms United States Patent Oiitiee 3,023,811 Patented Mar. 6, 1952 3,023,811 PULLING TOOL ASSEMBLY FOR WELL EQUIPMENT William G. Green, Tulsa, Okla., assignor, by mesne assignments, of one-third to Otis Engineering Corporation, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Nov. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 698,621 8 Claims. (Cl. 166-178) This invention relates generally to well equipment and more particularly to that class of equipment known as servicing tools which are adapted to be lowered into the bore hole of a well to perform a selected function at some depth in the well.

One primary purpose of this invention is to provide a tool which is adapted to be lowered into a well to engage a functional tool which is stuck in the well bore and to permit ythe stuck tool to be forceably removed from the well.

Another object is to provide a combination holding and pulling tool which is capable of exerting greater forces than is possible with conventional tools.

-A further object is to provide a combination holding and pull-ing tool which is also capable of exerting a pushing force on the stuck tool to reduce the pulling force required to release it.

And a still further object is to provide a combination holding, pulling, and pushing tool which is hydraulically operated and which is uniquely constructed so that the same fluid pressure that exerts the pushing force will also exert the pulling force in a predetermined sequence of operation.

And yet another object Vis to provide a pulling tool of the nature described wherein lthe operation of pushing will also result in a locking of the holding apparatus to increase the safety of the retrieving operation.

And another object is to provide a new method of retrieving stuck oil tubing tools which are held in place in the tubing by a combination of pipe engaging slips and `a tapered member.

An additional object is to provide a method of removing stuck equipment in a well bore which comprises first engaging the equipment with a holding means and secondly applying a downward force thereto, and then applying an upward pulling force automatically.

And yet a further object of this invention is to provide a method of removing a stuck tool from a well bore which includes the steps of lowering a ring means over the top of the tool and automatically holding one part of the stuck tool from the ring means and then applying a downward force to another part of the stuck tool to cause relative movement within the tool and then automatically changing the downward force on the one part to an upward force on the other part to pull the stuck tool from the well bore.

This patent application is a continuation-impart of my copending patent applications, Serial No. 658,325, led May 10, 1957, entitled Oil Well Service Tool Assy., and Serial No. 634,647 led January 17, l957, entitled Fishing Tool Assembly, and the disclosures of these applications are hereby incorporated in this application.

These Iand other objects and advantagw will be apparent from an examination of the following speciiication and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a cross sectional elevational view of the adapter section of the completed tool assembly of this invention showing the parts in their engaged position relative to the stuck equipment.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the parts at the end of their pushing position and just starting their pulling operation.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional detail view of a typical functional tool with which the tool of this invention and the method of this invention are used.

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional detail view of another type of functional tool with which the tool of this invention and method of this invention are used.

FIG. 6 is an outline view of the complete tool assembly of this invention showing its function in a well bore.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference of this invention it will be observed that, as shown in FIGURE 6, the assembly of well tools utilizing the holding and pulling tool 3 of this invention includes a flexible line actuated hydraulic fluid power operating tool 2, which may be of the type shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 634,647, led January 17, 1957, now Patent No. 2,978,030, issued April 4, l96l, `for applying actuating forces to the holding and pulling tool. It is sutiicient for the purposes of this application to note merely that shaft 10 of the holding and pulling tool 3 may be a direct extension of piston 11 of the hydraulic uid power operating tool 2 which corresponds to piston 6 of the above named application, and that piston 11 includes a central bore 12 to permit the passage of fluid under pressure. The shaft 10 is threaded at 13 into engagement with plug 14 which in turn is threaded at 15 into engagement with the sleeve 16 and each engagement named as well as cach additional juncture of stationary parts subjected to pressure leaks are sealed by a suitable packing such as O rings 17 in a conventional manner. The lower end of sleeve 16 is threaded at 18 into engagement with a tubular body member 19 which extends to the lower end of tool 3 whereat it is chamfered internally at 20. The body member 19, the sleeve 16 and the cap 14 comprise an external housing 4 and the body member has formed therein two or more longitundinal slots 21 which extend from a point just below the locking assembly 22 to a point just above the chamfer 20. Internally the body 19 is formed with an enlarged annular ridge 23 which is interrupted by the slots 21 but not sufficiently to aect the ability of its internal periphery 24 to act as a guide to the lower end 25 of piston 26 or to aiect the ability of its forward ledge surface 27 to act as a stop for the tapered ridge 28 of the center section 29 of the piston 26.

A series of dogs 30 having -a bulbular top section 31, an inwardly tapered lower latch 32 are pivoted about pins 33 to permit the dogs to expand outward at their lower ends and allow the head 34 of an oil well service tool, indicated generally at 35, to pass into the center cavity 36 of body 19. Once the head 34 has reached a predetermined internal position in cavity 36 the dogs 3i) will return to their original position under the urging of the circular spring 37, and the latch '32 will securely engage the lower lip 38 of head 34.

When this condition has occurred, no further lowering of tool 3 is necessary and the tool is then in position for the subsequent step in the operation, which is to deliver fluid pressure through bore 12 and into a blind hole 4i) in piston 26. When the pressure in the blind hole 40 has reached a given value, the socket 41 will exert sufficient pressure on ball 42 of the lock assembly to raise the ball out of its socket against the resistance of spring 43 and permit the piston 26 to move downward relative to the now stationary housing 4. The ball 42 has -now moved out of its socket 41 and rides in a recessed longitudinal slot 45 and by so doing acts as a guide to prevent the piston 26 from rotating relative to the housing 4 during longitudinal travel of the piston. The enlarged head 46 of the piston 26 and also the center section 29 are equipped with piston rings 47 which prevent iiuid leakage during operation; these rings may be of the O ring type as shown or maybe any ring or packing known to be used for this purpose. When the piston'26 has travelled a short distance downward, the circumferential ridge 28 will pass under the bulb section 31 of the dogs 30 and the circumference of center section 29 will thereafter prevent any inward movement of sections 31 and consequently the dogs 30 will be prevented from releasing their grip on head 34. After a slight additional downward movement of piston 26, its lower end 50 will strike the top of head 51 of the internal sliding member 52 of the stuck tool 35.

The oil well service tool 35 which is shown in FIG. 3 to be stuck in the tubing T by reason of an excessive pressure of its tapered surface 53 binding the slips 54 into biting engagement with the internal diameter of the tubing T by forcing the slips 54 to pivot about pin 55 as the center member 52 moves upward relative to the external housing member 56 of the tool 35 which is shown here in a general outline form only for purposes of description of the tool 3. By applying repeated downward pressures through piston 26 to the top of head 51 by hydraulic uid -pressure injected into the sleeve 16 to act on the upper end of the piston 26, the center member 52 will move downward until the taper 53 is clear of the slips 54 and will allow them to collapse so that the complete tool 35 may then be raised -by an upward force which the tool 3 will exert when continued fluid pressure is received through bore 12. After the tool 35 is completely dislodged from its stuck position, then it and the attached tools 2 and 3 may be raised out of the well bore by an upward llift on the wire line to which the hydraulic iluid power operating tool 2 is attached.

It will be observed that the tool 3 when combined with a -exble line actuated hydraulic fluid power operating tool such as those illustrated and described in my hereinbefore identilied application will provide a complete new and useful combination tool which is identied as assembly 5. It is also believed readily apparent that the rigid shaft may be replaced by a exible tubing shaft (not shown) and fthe bore 12 may then be directly connected to a iluid pressure source at the well surface and the tool 3 lowered by a wire line or sucker rod to its operating position. The shaft 10 may also be replaced in another embodiment by a hydraulic hose not shown) and lowered and retrieved by the hose.

The holding tool 135 in FIG. 5 is similar to that shown at 35 in FIG. 3 except that in this instance the well tubing T is attached to a special collar 7G which includes an annular recess 71 having an upper or forward end bevel 72 to coincide with the bevel 73 of the hinged slip 154. The center member 152 is attached to and includes an extension member 152A which has a circumferential taper 153 which cooperates with a mating taper 74 on the underside of the slips 154. The extension member 152A may contain an item of well equipment (not shown) so that the tool 135 functions to positively suspend the desired equipment in a well tubing at a selected location when the center member 152 is pulled upward relative to and through the housing member 156. vIt will be observed that a-t this operation, the taper 153 will engage the taper 74 and cause the slips 154 to pivot outward from their groove attachment 75 tothe ring 76 of housing 156 until the bevels 73 and 72 coincide and the slips and consequently the entire tool 135 will be locked at the recess 71. To then release the tool 135 and pull it up the tubing, the pulling tool section 3 is lowered into 'the well tubing 52 by means of the main body 2 and the named members are -all raised from the well by means of the wire line 77 (FIG. 6) or other means in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 3.

In FIGURE 6 the hydraulic fluid power operating tool 2 is shown to have the holding and pulling tool B connected thereto. As shown, the holding and pulling tool has just engaged the head 134 of the tool 135 and is in the preparatory process of applying a downward force `from piston 26. against the head 151 of .the .center member 152 to permit the tool 135 to be released as described.

The shaft 10 of the hydraulic fluid pressure operating tool 2 has an external annular groove '80 formed therein adjacent the upper end of` thecap 14 of the holding and pulling tool V3,-and-the lower end ofthe housing 81 of the tool 2 has an internal lrecess 82formed therein in which a spring loaded vsplit ring latch P83 is mounted. nThe latch 83 merely contacts the external surface of shaft 10 during its longitudinal movement until such time as the groove is directlyunder the latch, at which time the spring 84 will squeeze the latch into the `groove and latch these `parts inplace and effectively lock the .piston 10 against any further vertical movement, until such time as manual tool i-s insentedthru opening to release the latch and permit resetting of the tool 2 for further use.

In this specification, where the term stuck too is employed, the term is intended to include not only those tools which are actually stuck into the tubing, but also previously ya certain class of well tools installed in the well bore and not necessarily stuck, but because of the tightness of their it in the lwell bore or because of pressure differentials existing across the tools, are diicult to release and remove in the usual manner. Thus, the term includes not only tools actually stuck because of sand or the like, but also diicult to move, well tools which are to be removed from or relocated in a well bore.

What is claimed is:

l. A holding and pulling tool including: an elongate tubular housing open at its lower end;.a plurality of sup- Vporting means movably mounted on said housing and having support members on their lower ends biased inwardly of the housing adjacent the lower open end thereof; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means; cooperable means on said housing and said piston limiting longitudinal mo-vement of said piston means in the housing; cooperable means on said piston means and said supporting means for preventing outward movement of said support members when said piston means is moved a predetermined distance long'tudinally in said housing toward said lower end of said housing; and means on said housing providing a conduit for conducting hydraulic fluids into said housing to act on said piston means kto move the same forcibly .longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means.

2. A holding and pulling tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed at one end and open at its other end; a plurality of supporting means swingably mounted on the housing and each having one end provided with a supporting member and movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to the housing adjacent such open end; means biasing the movable end of said supporting means inwardly Vof said open end of said housing; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means and movable toward and away from the open end of said housing; means vin said housing engageable with said piston means limiting movement of said piston means .longitudinally toward the open end of said housing; cooperable means on said piston means and said supporting members for preventing movement of said one end ofsaid supporting members outwardly when the piston means is moved longitudinally a predetermined distance toward the open end of said housing; and means on said housing providing a conduit into said housing between said piston means and said closed end `of said housing for conducting hydraulic iluids into said housing to move said piston means forcibly longitudinally in saidhousing toward the open end thereof.

3. A holding and pulling tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed atone end and open at its other end; a plurality of supporting means swingably mounted on the housing and each having one end provided with a supporting member and movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to the housingadjacentsuch open end; means biasing the movable end of said supporting means inwardly of said open end of said housing; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means and the housing and movable toward and away from the open end of said housing; means in said housing engageable with said piston means limiting movement of said piston means longitudinally toward the open end of said housing; and means on said housing providing a conduit into said housing between said piston means and said closed end of said housing for conducting hydraulic iluids into said housing to move said piston means forcibly longitudinally in said housing toward the open end thereof.

4. A holding and pulling tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed at one end and open at its other end; a plurality of supporting members swingably mounted on the housing and each having one end provided with a supporting member and movable inwardly and outwardly with respect to the open end of the housing adjacent such open end; means biasing the movable end of said supporting means inwardly of said open end of said housing; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means and the housing and movable toward and away from the open end of said housing; means in said housing engageable with said piston means limiting movement of said piston means longitudinally toward the open end of said housing; means in said housing engageable with said piston means for releasably holding said piston means in a position remote from said open end of said housing; means sealing between said piston means and said housing; and means on said housing providing a conduit into said housing between said piston means and said closed end of said housing for conducting hydraulic iluids into said housing to move said piston means forcibly longitudinally in said housing toward the open end thereof.

5. A holding and pulling tool adapted to be lowered into a well to engage and remove a well tool positioned therein having a pair of means movable with respect to each other for locking said well tool in said well, said holding and removing tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed at one end and open at its other end and adapted to telescope over said well tool; supporting means movably mounted on said housing and biased inwardly adjacent the open lower end thereof; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means; means in said housing engageable with said piston means limiting movement of said piston means longitudinally toward the open end of said housing, said piston means having means thereon disposed to engage one of said means on said well tool in the well when said housing is telscoped over said well tool; said supporting means having means thereon disposed to engage the other of said means on said well tool locking said well tool in said well when said housing is telescoped over said well tool; means on said housing providing a conduit for admitting hydraulic iiuids into said housing between said piston means and the closed end of said housing to move said piston means forcibly longitudinally in said housing toward the open end thereof to effect relative movement between said movable locking means of said well tool to release said well tool from locked position in said Well.

6. A holding and pulling tool adapted to be lowered into a well to engage and remove a well tool positioned therein having a pair of means movable with respect to each other for locking said Well tool in said well, said holding and removing tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed at one end and open at its other end and adapted to telescope over said well tool; supporting means movably mounted on said housing and biased inwardly adjacent the open lower end thereof; piston means slidable longitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means; means sealing between said piston means and said housing; means limiting movement of said piston longitudinally of said housing toward the open end thereof; said piston means having means thereon disposed to engage one of said means on said well tool in the well when said housing is telescoped over said well tool; said supporting means having means thereon disposed to engage the other of said means on said Well tool locking said well ltool in said well when said housing is telescoped over said well tool; means on said housing providing a conduit for admitting hydraulic iiuids into said housing between said piston means and the closed end of said housing to move said piston means forcibly longitudinally in said housing toward the open end thereof to effect relative movement between said movable locking means of said well tool to release said well tool from locked position in said well.

7. A holding and pulling tool yadapted to be lowered into a well to engage and remove a well tool positioned therein having a pair of means movable with respect to each other for locking said well tool in said well, said holding and removing tool including: an elongate tubular housing closed at its upper end and open at its lower end and adapted to telescope over said well tool; supporting means movably mounted on said housing and biased inwardly of said tubular housing adjacent the open lower end thereof; piston means slidable longitudinally in said tubular housing with respect to said supporting means; means sealing between said piston means and said housing; means on said housing providing a conduit for admitting hydraulic iuids into said housing above said piston means; whereby said piston means may be moved in said housing by such fluids admitted into said housing through said conduit; said piston means having means thereon disposed to engage one of said means on said well tool locking said well tool in the well when said housing is telescoped over said well tool; said supporting means having means thereon disposed to engage the other of said means on said well tool locking said well tool in said well when said housing is telescoped over said well tool; said piston means being movable longitudinally with respect to said supporting means by uid pressure introduced into said Ihousing through said conduit to effect relative movement between said movable locking means of said -well tool to release said well tool from locked position in said well; and means on the housing engageable with said piston means for retaining said piston means in said housing when said piston means is moved longitudinally toward the open end of said housing.

8. A holding and pulling tool including: a tubular housing open at its lower end; a plurality of supporting means movably mounted on said housing and having support members on their lower ends biased inwardly of the housing adjacent the lower open end thereof; piston means slidable longtitudinally in said housing with respect to said supporting means; cooperable means on said piston means and said supporting means for locking said support members to prevent outward movement of their lower ends; cooperable means on said piston means and -said housing for releasably locking said piston means in said housing in a position remote from said lower end of said housing; and means on said housing providing a conduit for conducting hydraulic iluids into said housing to act on said piston means to move the same forcibly longitudinally in said housing with respect to the said support means.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,920,103 Otis July 25, 1933 2,358,466 Miller Sept. 19, 1944 2,507,585 Bassinger May 16, 1950 2,781,854 Boer et al. Feb. 19, 1957 2,805,718 Tausch Sept. 10, 1957 2,829,716 Stewart Apr. 8, 1958 2,851,112 Buck Sept. 9, 1958 

